Monday, 15 May 2017

At a Darren Hanlon gig what seems like aeons ago, a couple of friends* recommended Don Lennon's music to me. I made the usual mental note which was promptly misfiled in my brain so I never found my fingers typing his name into a search engine. Wind on a few years and another friend recommended Lennon's first group, The Umpteens, to me. This time I took the hint and discovered just what a fool I'd been for not listening to his music sooner:

On the subject of Finland's cherished Timmion label, have you heard Bobby Oroza's "This Love" on its Stylart offshoot? If at any point in the last couple of months you had bumped into me on Argyle Street, there's a fair chance that I would have bored you senseless with my unquantifiable love for its warm, gently impassioned charms. If Bobby never makes another great record, he will forever be a giant in Not Unloved's eyes for "This Love" alone.

The picture sleeve version appears to be long gone and, as expected, is already getting pricey on discogs but the repress in the generic sleeve is still available for a sensible price if you look hard enough (I got mine from Jazzman). Get on it!

* - these friends now make up half of The Pooches who recorded a lovely version of Don Lennon's "Songs" for a charity tape:

<a href="http://nodicetapes.bandcamp.com/album/2016-the-year-all-bad-things-went-away-and-everything-turned-out-to-be-fine">2016: the year all bad things went away and everything turned out to be fine by No Dice Tapes</a>

Portland, Oregon (USA) has a produced a bewildering list of dandy groups over the years. To that list I'd cheerfully add Mope Grooves. Their recent "Joy" LP boasts a whole heap of things that would've turned my head at any point in the last 25 years: scrappy songs beamed from lost Television Personalities rehearsal tapes, jangling guitars that duck and dive as if play fighting and the odd crayon scribble of noise. This is music made by the kids who drew cheeky cartoons in the margins of their science books. Maximum possible joy!

In October 2016Not Unloved danced self-consciously even when no-one was looking to Omar S and Nite Jewel's first collaboration, "Nite Train". The assumption at the time was that this was a one-off deal. There was much rejoicing, therefore, when news of a second release from the pair appeared in February. "Confess To U" is the most annoying record to play being a one-sided 12" affair with 2 concentric grooves - a vocal mix and a Hamtramck remix - on the playing side which play from the inside out. Argh! All of that's forgotten, however, when the summertime vocal hooks kick-in. It's the sound of summer 1989 and should, by rights, be booming obnoxiously from the tape decks of Ford Escort cabriolets the nation over.